Open letter to Sadiq Khan to support National Hate Crime Awareness Week

Members of Charities Challenging Hate Crime last week asked HEAR to draft an open letter, for them and other HEAR members to support, asking the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and his deputies for Social Integration, Policing and Crime and London’s Victims’ Commissioner to support National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019.

To sign the letter please email your name and organisation by 9am Monday 26th August to mhairi@HEARequality.org.uk. We will continue to accept signatures and support after the bank holiday, but to guarantee your name/organisation will be included in the published letter please sign ASAP.

Please share this letter widely. A template to request support from local authorities, the police and others, that members can used to approach their contacts will be made available shortly.

…It has come to the attention of network members that despite commitments to reducing hate crime and targeted abuse in the Mayor’s Crime and Police Plan… MOPAC and the GLA have as yet made no contribution or commitment, financial or otherwise, to support National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019.

…Since 2012, MOPAC has contributed a small but significant amount of money to enable the production and delivery of merchandise to facilitate hate crime awareness events across London.

This merchandise is used by City Hall, London Borough councils, the Met police, British Transport police, Transport for London, innumerable charities and social enterprises (including all those currently in receipt of MOPAC grants), schools and individuals, for their NationalHCAW events.

We the undersigned, therefore, urge the Mayor and his deputies to:

1. Immediately free up £30,000 and confirm funding so that 17-24-30 National Hate Crime Awareness Week can order, get delivery of and distribute merchandise across 33 boroughs to enable NationalHCAW to happen across London in 2019

2. Commit to sustainably supporting 17-24-30, National Hate Crime Awareness Week, the founders and organisers of NationalHCAW, with an annual contribution outside of MOPAC and GLA grants programmes, thereby treating NationalHCAW as a core-part of the work of the GLA through this small financial contribution

3. Commit to annually attending the NationalHCAW service of remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral (or sending a letter of support if the Mayor, or a Deputy is unable to attend in person) to demonstrate support for and the significance of challenging hate crime in London